The royal family of the Qing Dynasty believed in Buddhism, so the Qing court had a rule to find a stand-in monk for the emperor, as a stand-in, so that the emperor’s health and longevity can be extended. It may also be to save the emperor's affairs, after all, he can't let the emperor go to eat fast and reciting the Buddha every day and delay national affairs.
The conditions for finding a substitute monk in the Qing imperial family must be very harsh. These stand-in monks who took the place of the emperor’s ordination must match the emperor’s birth date, not necessarily the same year, but they must be born on the same month and day, and their appearance must be correct, so as not to lose the emperor’s face.
From left, Pujie Fu Yirunqi
used a substitute instead of becoming a monk. The Qing court believed that this was a kind of energy transfer. Find a substitute and become a monk in his own name. The Dharma obtained falls under his own name. The Buddha's Dharma is transferred to oneself through "energy transmission." Of course, this kind of thing is a kind of superstition now.
After Puyi ascended the throne and became emperor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to look for a stand-in monk. Looking around, I found that there was a eunuch Sun Hu in the palace who met these conditions. At that time, Sun Hu was still a low-ranking eunuch, more than 20 years older than Pu Yi.
Puyi’s father and sibling
looked to outsiders at that time, Sun Hu was an extremely mysterious person who could not be easily seen. He usually eats and recites Buddha for Puyi. In the Forbidden City, he is Puyi’s substitute and cannot be underestimated. No one dared to neglect.
Sun Hu's age is much older than Pu Yi, and Pu Yi was too young at the time, when he didn't know how much power the emperor could bring to him, Sun Hu in the backyard of the imperial palace could already be regarded as very beautiful. He gave a lot of favorable conditions for his food and clothing, and he often appeared in some ceremonies and other occasions to enjoy the glory and wealth. In normal days in the palace, although he can't leave the palace, he doesn't have to do anything to wait on people. Sun Hu often picks up a bird cage and strolls in the palace. He was full of food and drink, and there were many little eunuchs who gave him enough face, and his stand-in life reached its peak.
Puyi
At that time, many eunuchs with brains, taking advantage of the salary paid by the palace and the special status of working for the palace, made friends with some officials, in case they might be used in the future. But at this time, Sun Hu, although he was said to be the emperor's stand-in, had a high status, after all, he didn't do it by hard work. If you have some brains, you should do more good deeds in the palace and make connections with people. However, it is a pity that Sun Hu was suddenly praised by people after a long hard time, and he could replace the emperor to make buddhas. I was stunned by the glory that fell from the sky. He was very arrogant and rude to people. When many eunuchs met Sun Hu, they greeted him respectfully. As a result, Sun Hu always dismissed him and ignored him, so Sun Hu's behavior also offended many people.
In fact, many eunuchs at the time had a sense of pension crisis. They left home since they were young, and after they entered the palace, they would serve their masters. They had no skill. Therefore, for the sake of raising their lives in the future, the eunuchs set up a mutual aid organization called the Pension Association. The eunuchs took out some money every month. The money will be given to the old-age support society. In this way, when you are old and go out of the palace, you can go to the temple, not only can you eat and drink, but also someone can help you bury it after death. The eunuchs in the palace paid the money, but Sun Hu never took it seriously. He believed that he was the emperor’s stand-in monk, and he did not need to go to the temple to provide for the elderly. Even if he died, the royal family would help to take care of future generations. . So Sun Hu has never paid this kind of money.
film stills The great eunuch
But with the demise of the Qing government, Sun Hu’s good days are gone, Feng Yuxiang sent his subordinate Lu Zhonglin to lead the army to drive Puyi out of the Forbidden City. When Puyi came out of the palace, he brought a lot of people to serve him, but no one thought about Sun Hu at all. After being driven out of the Forbidden City, Sun Hu is said to be living on the streets of Beijing. Because he did not participate in the pension service, the temple was confiscated to take him in, and because of his poor popularity, no one wanted to help him. He starved to death on the street.
Sun Hu originally had a higher starting point than other eunuchs, but he always thought that he was superior, scorned others, had no plan for his own life, and played a good hand of cards by himself. Who can be blamed?
